Freddie Gray, whose family says he was injured during his arrest last week by Baltimore police, "clung to life for seven days" before he died Sunday, according to his family's attorney.
Gray was a "healthy" man when he was "chased" by police last Sunday "without any evidence he had committed a crime,” William Murphy Jr., an attorney for Gray's family, said.
Baltimore police said Gray, 25, had been trying to flee from officers, according to ABC affiliate WMAR-TV.
Police declined to comment, saying they will update the case this afternoon at a media briefing.
Cellphone video appeared to capture Gray screaming as officers dragged him to a police van, according to WMAR.
"His take-down and arrest without probable cause occurred under a police video camera, which taped everything including the police dragging and throwing Freddie into a police vehicle while he screamed in pain," Murphy said in a statement to ABC News.
Police said in court documents Gray had been arrested without force or incident, according to The Associated Press. The officers wanted to charge Gray with carrying a switchblade, the AP reported.
Murphy said, "While in police custody, his spine was 80 percent severed at his neck. He lapsed into a coma, died, was resuscitated, stayed in a coma and last Monday, underwent extensive surgery at Shock Trauma to save his life."
Gray "clung to life for seven days" before he died Sunday morning, according to Murphy.
The Shock Trauma center in Baltimore confirmed Gray's death, according to WMAR.
Police had said last week it was unclear whether Gray suffered a medical emergency or was injured during the arrest, WMAR reported.
Murphy added, "We believe the police are keeping the circumstances of Freddie’s death secret until they develop a version of events that will absolve them of all responsibility. However, his family and the citizens of Baltimore deserve to know the real truth; and we will not stop until we get justice for Freddie."
ABC News' Katherine Faulders and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1D8a5vU
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